Homemade coffee creamers are worth a try.

For many people, drinking a black cup of coffee has more jolt from the taste than the caffeine. A stream of cool creamer mellows out the boldness of your favorite Colombian blend. And adding a touch of sweetness makes your morning ritual that much more special.

These days, the grocery store has no end of creamer options. From unflavored powdered varieties to vanilla caramel latte (and even your favorite candy bar), the ways you can customize your cup of Joe are endless.

But your home kitchen can be just as vast a treasure trove. With a few ingredients and a little creativity, you can put those store-bought varieties to shame - or at least give them a run for their money.

• Biggest surprise: How hard it was to find coffee creamer recipes to begin with. I figured everyone from the Food Network to teen food bloggers would have covered this topic. Not so. It's easy to find powdered cappuccino or hot chocolate mixes but much more difficult to find more than a few basic creamer recipes.

• Critical steps: Shaking before using. Unlike store-bought creamers that are the perfect consistency weeks and even a month or two after you buy them, some of the ingredients can settle to the bottom in the homemade varieties (like the pumpkin). To make life easier, keep your creamer in a mason jar in the fridge. Simply shake it a few times to redistribute everything before popping off the lid and adding to your coffee.

• Comparison to its commercial counterpart: The powdered creamer tastes exactly like the store-bought variety. Mixed into a cup of coffee, you won't be able to tell the difference.

The liquid pumpkin spice coffee creamer was better than anything I've found at the grocery store. It tastes so fresh and simple. Trying it right from the jar, I thought it would be fantastic splashed over a hot bowl of oatmeal.

In a cup of coffee, it adds just a hint of pumpkin flavor that isn't overpowering. The maple syrup in the recipe adds a nice bit of sweetness.

The cinnamon streusel creamer was good but not my favorite. I like the punch of cinnamon that infuses the entire cup of coffee, but this variety is much sweeter than store-bought. The sweetened condensed milk may be fat free, but it's no less sweet.

• Is it worth it? Yes. The effort to make homemade creamer takes little more than whisking together a few ingredients. If you care about what goes into your creamer, you should try making it yourself. (Ingredients in the store-bought varieties are a mile long.)

• Other notes: Homemade coffee creamer just begs for experimentation. Once you find a base recipe you like (such as whole milk, cream and maple syrup), you can change the flavors by adding different extracts or spices. For example, add a few tablespoons of cocoa and peppermint extract and you've got yourself peppermint mocha creamer.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
Makes 2 ¼ cups

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk, cream, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup. When the mixture begins to steam, remove from heat and stir in vanilla . Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in refrigerator up to 10 days. Shake each time before use.

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Because this powdered creamer is shelf-stable, you can keep it in your pantry for months.

Powdered Coffee Creamer
Makes 2 2/3 cups

2 cups instant nonfat dry milk

¼ cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Combine dry milk and sugar in a bowl and mix with a fork. Slowly add coconut oil, drizzling it over the top while mixing. Mix well until there are no clumps. Store in a jar with a lid in the pantry.

DIY Kitchen explores the making from scratch of food products normally purchased at the store. Send your suggestions for future DIY Kitchen topics to food editor Nancy Stohs at nstohs@journalsentinel.com.

About Alysha Witwicki

Alysha Witwicki is a retail copywriter and food writer living in Whitefish Bay.